


Black Balloon

by JackPotato



Series: Song Fic Series [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Face Slapping, Happy Ending, Homophobia, M/M, last fic, maybe? - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2017-04-29
Packaged: 2018-10-25 07:11:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10759308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackPotato/pseuds/JackPotato
Summary: ‘They won’t let him see you’, she explains her voice still quiet, ‘I tried, but they won’t listen’.





	Black Balloon

**Author's Note:**

> Song Fic Series  
> Thank you for the kudo and comments!!  
> Your encouragement gives me the courage to keep writing!  
> Completely unbeta'd so please be kind.  
> This is possibly the last one in this series UNLESS you guys want another! 
> 
>  
> 
> Song - Black Balloon - The Kills.
> 
> Come say hi - jackpotato on tumblr

**_Elevator straight into my skull_**  
**_The escalator rises as it falls_**  


The bright lights in the room make Alec wince a little as he starts to wake up, slowly he cracks one eye open and then another as his vision adjusts to the room. As his vision adjusts and the room sharpens from the hazing blur, Alec realises he’s not in his room anymore. He opens his mouth to make a sound, but his throat his dry and course. Before he realises it there’s a warm hand on his arm and his sister’s face moves into view, ‘You gave us a fright Hermano’, she says softly, smiling, but Alec can see the stress in the lines around her eyes and mouth, the darkness under eyes from lack of sleep. Pressing a button on the bed, Isabelle, tilts him slowly into a half sitting position, before she pours him a glass of water and hands it to him. It’s then, as Alec raises his arm to grab the cup that he sees the tubes coming from his arm. Taking a swallow of water, wincing at the pain of the sudden coolness down his dry throat, Alec coughs a little from drinking too much too quickly.  Isabelle, is by his side in a second, taking his cup, ‘You okay?’ She asks, worry seeping into her words. Alec nods, coughing a little and indicates towards the cup of water. Handing it back to him, Isabelle tries to mask the worry on her face as she watches Alec take a slower sip, taking in his surrounds as he does, ‘W-Where am I?’ He asks, confused.

‘The hospital Alec’, she replies softly, ‘They found you on the floor… if it hadn’t been for Magnus…’ Just as she says those words, there’s loud shouting from outside of the room. Isabelle sighs and looks towards the door, but doesn’t get up. Alec gets the sense that she already knows what the commotion is all about. ‘They won’t let him see you’, she explains her voice still quiet, ‘I tried, but they won’t listen’, Isabelle continues, as she looks wistfully towards the door, ‘they weren’t impressed to find out you’d been seeing him… then they accused Magnus of making it up… that he was trying to get money out of you’, Isabelle shakes her head sadly, finally looks at her brother, ‘but he saved your life… I think… I think he loves you Alec’.

~

 

**_I swear our jet is crashing in my mind  
You can hold on but I wouldn't waste your time_ **

****

Alec wakes up again and the room is dark save from one small desk lamp. He doesn’t remember dozing off after speaking to his sister and as he fully wakes, he notices the dark figure sitting in the chair off by the window. Slowly the figure shifts in the seat and gets up, pouring another glass of water, it’s only when he sees the glint of a silver pendant around their neck in the shape of an M that Alec knows who it is.

‘Alec’, his mother says curtly, her voice cold and stern as she hands him the glass. Alec takes a slow sip and waits for his mother to continue, ‘Alec… what have you done’.

Alec sighs and puts the glass down on the small bedside table, waiting for his mother to continue. ‘That boy… says you’re together. He made a scene in front of everyone’, his mother’s voice is still low, but the anger is creeping in. Alec sighs and closes his eyes, feeling a little nauseous and not wanting to deal with this right now, hoping by closing his eyes his mother will disappear. ‘Alec’, she says sternly, the sharpness of her tone, making Alec open his eyes and turn to her for the first time, ‘I told him he wasn’t going to blackmail us’, she said matter-of-factly, crossing her arms in front of her, ‘He’s not going to get any money from us’, His mother turns towards the windows, ‘As if a Lightwood would be interested in him… that… _trash_ ’ she spits.

‘Mother’, Alec says, his voice still rough, so his words come out croaked, ‘We’re going to talk to our lawyers in the morning… maybe we can get him thrown out of school…’ She continues her rant, tutting a little, seemingly not listening to her son.

‘Mother…’ Alec tries again, trying to find a voice against his mother’s vile barrage. ‘It’s not like he belongs- ‘

‘Mother _, enough’_ , Alec cuts her off, his words strong and demanding, sitting up fully in bed now. Maryse Lightwood abruptly turns to face her son, and is taken aback at the confidence. Something she’d rarely seen in him, ‘Alec… don’t use that tone with your mother’ she scolds, trying to hide the surprise in her face and tone.

‘Mother, enough,’, he says, his tone a little gentler, ‘I need to talk you and father now please. I have something to tell you both’.

  
~

 

**_Farewell my black balloon  
Farewell my black balloon_ **

****

Magnus sits with his head in his hands as he waits for his adoptive parents to turn up. After trying and failing several times to get in to see Alec, he’d made a panicked call to his father Luke at the police station, ‘Surely, they can’t stop me from seeing him!’, he had said over the phone, exasperated, ‘Magnus’, Luke had replied, his tone calm and soothing, ‘They’re his parents, they can’. Magnus had almost cried then, ‘They threatened to call the police… to kick me out of school… Luke they accused me of blackmailing Alec’. Magnus could hear the sigh on the other end of the line, ‘I’ve nearly finished my shift, I’ll pick up Jocelyn and we’ll come down as soon as we can okay?’ Magnus had sniffed a little and nodded, even though Luke couldn’t see it, ‘It’ll be okay kiddo, don’t worry’.

And now Magnus was here, waiting for Luke and Jocelyn to arrive. How could they accuse him of blackmail? He loved their son… he’d save Alec’s life for fuck sake!

While Magnus knew how horrible Alec’s parents were, he hadn’t known to the full extent until now.

‘YOU’RE GAY?!’ Magnus’ head shoots up automatically alarmed, as he hears the shouted words coming from Alec’s hospital room, quickly getting up off his seat, as he hears more raised voices and then a smashing sound. He was about to head towards Alec’s room, fearful of what was happening, when Magnus hears someone call out his name from behind him. Turning, Magnus sees Luke and Jocelyn walking towards him, just as the door to Alec’s room bursts open. A livid Robert Lightwood storms through and looks side to side before locking eyes with Magnus.

‘This is all your fault!’ he yells, shaking his finger angrily at Magnus as he stomps towards him, his face bright red. Magnus puts his hands up in a defensively gesture, eyes wide, taking a step backwards. ‘What did you do to my son!’ Robert continues to rage, still advancing on Magnus, pointing an accusing finger at the boy. Magnus shakes his head, about to take another step back, when he feels a firm, warm hand on his shoulder. Magnus looks up and is instantly relieved to find it belonged to Luke. ‘Mr Lightwood, we’re in a hospital...’ Luke tries to placate Robert Lightwood, keeping his voice calm and even to the man who had stopped in front of them, fuming. If this had been an old cartoon, Magnus imagined steam would be coming out from his ears. ‘This _thing_ … has coerced my son!’ He accused, jabbing at Magnus as he spoke to Luke. Magnus can hear the hitched breath Jocelyn makes behind them in shock.

‘I would be very careful with what words you use Mr Lightwood’, Luke warned his voice low and menacing, moving in front of Magnus, to protect him from this barrage. Luke’s words and his movement seemed to rattle Robert Lightwood, ‘Are you threatening me Garroway? I could have your badge!’

Luke raises an eyebrow in disbelief, because he knows it’s an empty threat. Robert Lightwood, for all his money held no power over him. Robert seems to pause realising his mistake, ‘This is all your fault!’, he counters, pointing a finger at Magnus again, trying to cover his earlier mistake, focusing back on Magnus. ‘Robert’, Luke tries again, hands held up as if he was trying to calm down a wounded animal. ‘Let’s sit down and talk about this, surely we can discuss…’

‘No!’ Robert blusters, looking around and realising he’s caused a scene. Magnus can see the argument has caused quite a few people to stop and stare at the commotion, a couple of nurses stand behind Robert, ready in case he does something, ‘No! There is nothing to discuss!’ His eyes moving from Luke to Magnus. Robert takes a step forward and leans in close, ‘You will never see my son again!’ he sneers before pushing past them both and down the corridor.

~

  
**_I've stood in a thousand street scenes  
Just around the corner from you_**

 

It’s been a week since the scene in the hospital and Magnus hasn’t seen nor heard from Alec. He knows he’s left the hospital, Alec’s best friend Jace Wayland, pulled him up after class, pulling him around a corner, so not to be seen and passed him a note a couple of days ago. When he was pulled around the corner, Magnus had closed his eyes, waiting for the punch, obviously knowing what had happened. But then he felt his hand been taken and a note shoved into his hand. Opening his eyes, Magnus could see the sympathetic small smile on Jace’s face, holding onto his hand for a second longer than necessary, before letting go and sauntering off down the hall as if nothing had happened. Magnus had blinked in surprise, before realising he had a note in his hand. Carefully opening it up, Magnus had to cover his mouth to stop himself from almost bursting into tears. It was short and sweet.

_I’m okay. I love you._

  
  
**_~_**

**_On the edge of a dream that you have  
Has anybody ever told you it's not coming true_ **

****

Alec wasn’t okay. After the scene at the hospital, Alec hadn’t heard the end of it. Threats to sue Magnus’ parents, the police, to pull Alec out of school… And of course, none of it was their fault and their constant denial that Alec would firstly be gay and secondly be in a relationship with Magnus Bane. Because of course, Magnus had influenced him. Coerced him… He had forced Alec to take the pills.

And every time Alec argued, they shut him down.

That was until the serious talk of moving Alec to another school started.

‘I’m 18, you can’t do this!’ Alec cried, getting up slowly from the kitchen table as he pushed away the pamphlets of other schools, that had been put in front of him, still a little frail from “the incident” as his parents had been calling it, ‘We can’, his mother huffed, turning on the kettle, hoping the noise will drown him out.  ‘I don’t want this!’ Alec replied, moving towards his mother.  Knowing he was still weak, Maryse moved out of his way easily and opened the fridge door, ‘you don’t know what you want’, she murmured to herself, rolling her eyes. Alec wincing a little, moved to shut the fridge door, ‘Mother, I won’t go. You can’t make me’. Maryse turned on her son, a gleeful smile on her face, like a cat that had gotten all the cream, ‘Alexander, while you’re living under this roof. You will do as your told. Now go wash up, it’s nearly dinner time’.

 

~

 

**_Farewell my black balloon  
Farewell my black balloon_ **

**_The weather had its way with you_ **

****

‘You have terrible taste in clothes Alec’, Isabelle had playfully chastised him as they walked up the stairs towards their bedrooms. For the first time in the last month, Alec was happy. He was going back to school tomorrow and his sister Isabelle had skipped school and taken him shopping to celebrate. Well taken wasn’t the right word… forced was more like it. But while Alec hated shopping, he was happy to go with her, because it had made her happy and there was no amount of thanks Alec could say or show to really tell his sister how much her support had meant to him this past month.

‘What’s wrong with black?’ He teased nudging her playfully, arms full of bags. Alec knew Isabelle was especially happy that she had taken their parents credit card to pay for this little shopping trip. A small payback for the grief they had given Alec this past month. Alec had been surprised when the talk of moving schools had stopped and his parents had agreed that he could go back to school next week. But something didn’t sit right with Alec. After weeks of fighting, they seemed to have just given up. While Alec was happy, there was a small unsettling pit growing in his stomach, that something wasn’t quite right.

Isabelle rolls her eyes, in mock annoyance, ‘You need to keep up with the fashions’, she replies before moving in close, ‘especially when you have Magnus Bane as a boyfriend’, she added, giggling as she pushes her brother into his bedroom, ‘Now put these on and give me look…’ Alec groans and rolls his eyes, ‘Alec,’ Isabelle chastises, ‘You wouldn’t let me look in the shops… so you have to do it now…’ she hits him playfully on the ass with one of her bags, before heading down the hall to her own room, ‘You’ve got 5 minutes!’ she calls back.

Alec laughs as he enters his room, dropping the bags on his bed. Turning towards his cupboard, that’s when he sees it hung up.

The uniform for a private boy’s school, one from the pamphlets his parents had thrust at him after he’d been taken home from the hospital. Alec wants to laugh at the irony of his parents enrolling their gay son in an all-boys school, but instead he just stands there frozen.

Seemingly faraway, Alec can hear his sister cheerfully chatting to him as she walks down the hallway to his room, ‘You better be ready brother!’ But Alec can’t move, he can’t believe his parents have done this.

‘Alec… why haven’t…’ And then she stops, ‘Oh shit’, she curses, eyes wide. Normally Alec would tell her off.

If he could move that’s is.

But it’s his mother who does it for him, ‘Isabelle watch your mouth’. Alec turns slowly as if in a dream, where did she come from? He thinks absently. Shouldn’t she be at work?

‘You can’t do this!’ Isabelle yells in reply. Getting up into his mother’s face, stomping the ground in fury, ‘You homophobic bitch-’

SLAP.

Isabelle’s eyes go wide as her hand goes to her cheek as it already starts to turn red. Maryse Lightwood tuts, and brushes her hand down her black skirt, as if wiping away the guilt of slapping her own daughter.

Alec just watches, this is just a dream, he thinks. All just a dream.

The room is quiet, except for the small sob that comes from Isabelle.

‘Isabelle go to your room’, their mother says sternly, not looking at her.

With a sob, Isabelle turns and runs to her room, slamming the door. Maryse rolls her eyes at the sound, wiping her hands on her skirt once more before she turns to Alec.

‘I see you’ve seen your new uniform’, there’s a smile on her face, which is more of grimace, but she can’t seem to contain the gleeful look on her face, ‘I’m sure you’re going to like it at Idris Academy’, she continues, brushing something imaginary off Alec’s bed before sitting down. ‘I got a phone call you know… from the credit card company about your little…’ she eyes the bags of clothing, ‘…expedition today’.

Maryse laughs a little, ‘but I’m going to let it slide because tomorrow is a big day for you Alec’, she stands up and gingerly puts a hand on Alec’s shoulder, like she might get a shock from the human contact to her only son.

‘It’s for the best’, Maryse moves to stand in front of Alec, placing both hands on his shoulders, looking him in the eyes, ‘We can put this little incident behind us’.

‘I won’t go’. Alec replies, his voice faint, locking eyes with his mother

Maryse rolls her eyes and tuts, ‘Alec… don’t start this again’.

And that’s when he feels it, the anger cursing through his veins. ‘I won’t go’, he repeats, voice stronger. He thinks about Isabelle, about Magnus. No, he won’t go without a fight. Not when they’ve fought for him when he couldn’t.

‘I want to go back to my old high school’.

Sighing, his mother drops her hands from his shoulders, ‘Alec, how can you be so ungrateful’, mock sadness dripping off her words, ‘after all we’ve done for you and this is how you treat your father and I?’ her voice rises as she continues to speak.

‘Ungrateful?’ Alec shakes his head, any last traces of the fog he’d been under from the shock of seeing the uniform had now completely dissipated. ‘I have always done what you’ve said, followed your rules, hidden who I am, just for you! I sacrificed everything I was for you!’ Alec’s hands get more animated as he talks, his voice thick with emotion.

Maryse puts her hands on her hips and turns her face away, mouth in a tight line as she shakes her head.

‘I’m not going, and you can’t make me’, Alec puts his hands on his hips, mirroring his mother. She turns to face him, smirking, ‘While you live under this roof Alexander Gideon Lightwood, you will follow our rules, as you say, and do as you’re told’.

Alec shakes his head and moves past his mother, pulling out an overnight bag from under his bed, ‘Then I won’t live under your roof!’

Maryse gasps, ‘Alexander!’ But she doesn’t stop him as she watches her only son, pull out one of his drawers and empty the contents into the bag,

‘You cannot be serious!’, she exclaims, a little shocked that her plan hasn’t worked, shocked that her son has found the confidence to stand up to her after all these years. Her usual emotional blackmail not working on him anymore.

‘I am, ‘Alec replies, ‘Unless I can go back to Idris high… see Magnus -’ ‘- Never!’ She cuts him off, ‘I forbid you from seeing that lothario! The shame you’ve brought on our family Alec!’

‘The shame _you’ve_ brought’ he corrects her, ‘By the way you’ve treated us all these years…’ Maryse sharply sucks in a breath at her son’s words, ‘Alec… think about this… if you leave…’

Alec stops pulling out another drawer and turns to face his mother, ‘If I leave…what?’ he prompts, a sudden sadness filling his eyes… ‘Come on Mom…’

Maryse puts her hands on her hips again, head held high, feeling like she now has the upper hand, ‘Alexander, if you leave. You can never come back’. She abruptly turns to leave, her long black hair in its high pony tail whipping back and forth, as she slams his bedroom door shut behind her, as if that’s the final word.

Alec sighs and slumps down onto his bed, looking around at the mess he’s created, before his gaze falls on the uniform still hung up on his door.

  
~

  
**_Farewell my black balloon_**  
**_The weather had its way with you_**  
**_Farewell my black balloon_**

 

_Ding Dong._

Magnus looks up from the book he’s reading, eyebrows furrowed as he glances at his bedside clock. Surely that wasn’t the doorbell at this hour? He listens for a moment, hearing silence, Magnus shakes his head. Surely, he heard wrong?

And then, he hears it again.

_Ding Dong._

It’s shortly followed by thudding running footsteps on wooden floorboards going down stairs as his half-sister Clary calls out, ‘Coming!’. The footsteps getting fainter as she nears the front door. Curious, Magnus sits up and listens as he hears the door open and then silence, his bedroom being too far away from the front door to be able to clearly hear any conversation. After a moment, Magnus hears the door shut and then silence again. Furrowing his brow once more, Magnus puts a bookmark in his book and shuts it, dropping it on his bed next to him as he swivels and drops his feet to the floor, curious as to who they’re late night visitor might have been.

‘Clary?’ Magnus calls out, getting off his bed and heading towards his door. Opening it, Magnus calls out again down the hallway, ‘Biscuit?’

Silence.

Worry starts to seep into Magnus’ curiosity as he heads down the stairs, not liking the sudden silence of the house.

As he gets to the bottom of the stairs, Magnus stops for a second to take in the 3 overly stuffed overnight bags sitting in the entrance. Just as he steps towards the bags, Magnus hears a faint noise like a sob coming from the kitchen.

Before he knows it, Magnus is running into the kitchen, stopping suddenly at the sight in front of him. ‘Clary what’s going – ‘

There sitting on one of the bench seats, sniffling is Alec Lightwood.

Both he and Clary, who had been making tea; turn at the sudden noise of Magnus’ entrance.

‘Alexander!’ Magnus cries, moving quickly and wrapping his arms around the boy, who despite his long tall frame looks like a small scared boy.

‘Hi’ Alec replies his voice small, hugging Magnus back.

After what seems like only minutes of just taking each other in (but had been about 15 minutes, Clary had quietly left the kitchen to let the two boys have some alone time),  Magnus pulls back, resting his forehead against Alec’s.

‘Hi’ Magnus replies softly.

 

 


End file.
